Zone 2 training for menopause? Is it the solution to fat loss? If so why, and if not why not? 

Everyone is talking about Zone 2 training. What is it? First, it's important to understand that I use 5 training zones. Other sources and other coaches use 6 zones, still others 4 and 7 zones… so we’re already not talking about the same thing. It’s so much easier to share this in a “feels like” description.

Especially when talking to clients. 

I recently had a question from a client: What zone should we be in when doing intervals? 

My answer needed to be very intuitive. My answer could have backfired. Here’s how. 

Say I tell her that zone 4 and 5 are the zones for HIIT intervals. (alternated with zone 1 for recovery). 

With that answer, what’s she going to do? Very likely, she has never been tested using the mode of exercise she’s going to use (treadmill or bike) and instead what she’s doing is using an age-related chart predicting her target heart rate range for a specific level of intensity. This would be so wrong. 

For adults over 40… this kind of prediction underpredicts where they should be the majority of the time. 

Then, even when someone tested and a knowledgeable coach has interpreted and determined ranges… 

For anyone trying to use HR to see if they reach the right intensity during a 20-30 second burst of exercise… a monitor typically is measuring what happened, not the actual what is happening. 

So we’ve got challenges with different sets of zones. We can’t compare apples to oranges. 

We’ve got challenges with predicted and tested zones. And we’ve got a fundamental challenge with fat burning zone myths that still linger. 

This episode focuses on: 

• Understanding fat burning - when and how it happens at each level of exercise
• Understanding the best application of types fat burning exercise - for women in midlife you may be working with 

Busting Fat Burning Zone Myths for Midlife Clients

The theory behind “Zone 2” for support with fat burning is a bit of a myth.

Facts:

Exercise at lower intensities burns a high percentage of fat.

Exercise at high intensities burns a low percentage of fat.

Though it’s possible to train in a way that allows your body to gradually continue to use fat at higher intensities, it’s a process and many are skipping ahead to higher intensity exercise or just experiencing DRIFT.. where they do it long enough that their heart rate and intensity goes up from the stress and dehydration… instead of consciously keeping comfort level (talk test, breathing through nose AND Heart rate if known from testing) where it should be to train a base.

The thing to remember (written in 2015 in You Still Got It, Girl!) is that a small percent of a bigger number can still be more than a big percent of a small number.

AND.. it’s not the exercise time alone that you want to focus on. HIIT has a bigger post-exercise “after burn.”

However, what is most important… is this:

If you’re stressed… the HIIT-imposed stress may be too much (during adrenal or chronic fatigue) … and or if situational life stresses are HIGH.. the intensity of your exercise should potentially be lower to REDUCE CORTISOL and INFLAMMATION first… before adding the HIIT.

For most women… zone 2 is walking but not jogging. It’s often impossible to keep the HR low enough to be training ZONE 2 while running. Even though you “feel” good…. if the cardiac drift is enough, you’re in zone 3… and cortisol is elevated. This definitely happens as you approach 60 minutes and certainly beyond. Heat, dehydration, sleep deprivation or emotional stressors can also increase the intensity.

At true ZONE 2… staying low enough for short enough times, zone 2’s biggest benefit is NOT burning fat for fuel. It’s REDUCING cortisol levels by moving at a low level, reducing blood sugar levels, and creating a base to build greater fitness.

Zone 2 training for menopause can’t ignore the fact that women already burn more fat compared to men at any intensity level of exercise. It may be the exercise that supports greater insulin sensitivity is a lower-level exercise and that HIIT positively influences post-exercise fat oxidation. So that if your client is exercise tolerant right now, both included in her program are helpful. 

To learn more about Exercise Intolerance and Menopause Fitness, check here for the Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist. https://www.flippingfifty.com/specialist 

What About Strength Training and Zone 2 Training? 

Traditionally we don’t think of weight training as Zone intensity using Heart Rate to tell intensity, but number of repetitions to fatigue and volume in terms of multiple sets (not time). So you’re heart rate will soar during a set and return to zone 1 between, mimicking true HIIT, but it isn’t the point of strength. Your evaluation there is based on reaching muscular fatigue in recommended repetitions. Beginners start with more not less. You’ve got to show some love and respect your joints and ligaments before your strength training will help you love your muscle and body composition.

 

References: 

1. Oliver J. Chrzanowski-Smith, Robert M. Edinburgh, Mark P. Thomas, Aaron Hengist, Sean Williams, James A. Betts, Javier T. Gonzalez. Determinants of Peak Fat Oxidation Rates During Cycling in Healthy Men and Women. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2020; 1 DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0262
2. Oliver J Chrzanowski‐Smith, Robert M Edinburgh, Eleanor Smith, Mark P Thomas, Jean‐Philippe Walhin, Francoise Koumanov, Sean Williams, James A Betts, Javier T Gonzalez. Resting skeletal muscle ATGL and CPT1b are associated with peak fat oxidation rates in men and women but do not explain observed sex‐differences. Experimental Physiology, 2021; DOI: 10.1113/EP089431
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20190219091132id_/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1876/7c1a9e2c309e470821f34f66ad43c3a5bc67.pdf

 

 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

4 Ways Blood Sugar Could Halt Your Clients Fat Burning & Weight Loss: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/helping-midlife-clients-lose-weight/

3 Fast Ways to Better Results for Female Training Client: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/female-training-client/

The thing I didn’t say in this TEDx talk pertains to you, coach. And it’s this: 

It took making the mistakes first. 

 

I discovered the science about the serious gap in exercise and sports medicine research featuring women in 2013. 

 

At that point I’d coached hundreds of women privately, thousands in groups, and supervised hundreds of thousands of personal training sessions in homes, parks, private gyms, universities, and just about anywhere fitness can take place I’ve been there. 

 

So, there were clients that I had to learn with… I had to look at the physiology of menopause and the physiology of exercise and interpret the signs and symptoms by gathering it all together. Because no studies existed about women in post-menopause having an impossible time removing weight. Following all the rules and getting no results… was common. 

 

Yes, of course, there were those clients who wanted to continue enjoying their cocktails and “moderately” healthy diets but weren’t actually willing to make changes. 

But there was a large percentage of women who were willing to go 100% in and get changes… who I still struggled to support. 

Some were athletes, fit and exercising regularly, even competing in events. 

Others were just exercising alone, preferring it to be a private “me time” activity for them.

But both types of women following guidelines and position statements, counting steps and calories, were failing to get results. 

 

It was those that found the following recommendations not only didn’t work but backfired, that made me dive into a rabbit hole of research every day for hours. But in 2013, when I accidentally discovered that changing my own exercise routine resulted in better fitness than I’d ever experienced – even as an Ironman triathlete – that’s when it all came together.

 

You see, that part that WAS in my TEDx talk.. was the reason I finally got it. After exercising for hours daily.. for decades, I was not for the first time since I was 18. I was behind a desk and computer and trying to figure out just how to turn in my recently (self-directed) no income into something better than the mid-6 figures I’d been left behind and make a bigger impact on more people as well as the fitness industry. 

 

 

Exercising either briefly at high intensity or at low levels was all I did. I walked a big old, and only moderately motivated dog, did yoga or I chose to lift weights or do HIIT for 20 minutes. That was my exercise for about 11 months. Suddenly? I was in the best shape of my life… and naturally, easily thinner. 

 

WTH? 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

Menopause Fitness Specialist Program

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/menopause-fitness-specialist/

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

Youtube:

 https://www.youtube.com/@Flipping50TV/

Cardio vs Weights After 50 (Wish I Knew this Sooner)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCsa0CRCzbM

BIG Fitness Mistake Women Over 50 Make (It's Crucial for Lean Muscle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uchTI_anm60

 

This episode is such an accidental marketing for health & fitness pros post! Seriously, maybe the universe is sending me a message but I keep getting sent to dating sites. And then an article popped up with dating advice. For kicks, I read it. And I felt as if I could practically have changed the title and made it a post for marketing for health coaches. 

 

Alas, I did not! Look AI may be what you’re using to create a draft, but I hope plagiarism nor AI is running your business. The playing field is way too level if you do that. There’s no YOU in it. 

 

So here’s to your first date and everyone therefore after, with your new ideal customers. 

 

Use Your Personality: Or Your Brand Personality 

Why would you ever want to attract someone by acting in a way you aren’t? Say you’re introverted and you like movie nights, dinner for two and you go online to a dating site and make it sound as if you’re the life of the party and enjoy dancing in clubs to dancing in the living room. 

 

Likewise, don’t get yourself all excited and enthusiastic if you are calm, quiet, and subdued in working with clients. 

 

If you use words like “girlfriend” and people don’t like it, do you change or do you use what attracts people who DO like it? If you would stop using some term that actually fits your ideal customer, because a stranger disliked it, you’re like Julia Roberts’ character in Runaway Bride who doesn’t know what kind of eggs she likes and changes based on who she’s with. 

 

Start with Flirting 

 

Never forget that if you’re in-the-face, and skipping the education or you’re in a frenzy when talking… you alienate anyone already intimidated by overwhelming information, or in a frenzy with life themselves! 

 

Just flirt. Share some science. Explain the science. Listen, scientific studies are misinterpreted ALL-THE-TIME… so go back to your grad school 101 courses on interpreting types of science studies and know that this information is so very basic and much needed. Many women don’t realize the difference between a small study and a large one, an 8-week, and a 10-year, a split routine, and total body, the sequence of exercises, or the amount of rest and impact on them. 

 

Just little things. One thing at a time. A flirty look takes seconds and has you looking again in a few minutes right? Exactly. 

 

Ask for Advice

 

Marketing for health & fitness pros has never been so easy! This one is foolproof if you share something that matters to your audience. 

 

What should you wear for a photo shoot? What should you call your next program? How would you describe our business? Which colors do you like best? What logo design is your favorite? 

 

Women love to give their opinions! And they will. What they say may or may not be as important to you as the engagement. DO be prepared for responses and then comment!! On every single one! 

 

I’ve gotten great responses to ingredients in a new product, to which dress to wear to an event, and which tights to wear at a photoshoot. 

Ask Some Questions that They’ll Ask (subconsciously) After 

• Did I feel heard? 
• Is there something that makes me curious to know more? 
• Did I feel more energized?
• Did I laugh or smile? 
• Do I feel a little more inspired or excited? 

 

Marketing for health & fitness pros from dating advice - who knew!? But you truly are starting a new relationship. Let them see the real you, or the you that is your brand. 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

Marketing to Women Copywriting Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

Fitness Marketing Hacks: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/fitness-marketing-hacks/

Successfully Marketing to Active Older Adults | Fitness & Health Coaches:  https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/older-adults/

I have a friend and colleague who is a little more in-your-face than I am. She and I have different strengths about delivering our messages even though we have similar audiences and even services. 

 

She and I have a very similar programming foundation. We’d have to, right? It’s the same audience, same research, you can only come up with so many variations unless you’re using opinions. 

 

But people show up in my community who say, “I follow her too. But she’s intimidating. I can’t really relate.” 

Other times I’ve supervised dozens of fitness instructors. Many have attempted to motivate by saying things like, “ If you don’t squeeze your glutes no one else will.” 

 

On my YouTube channel of 170,000 organic followers so many comments, “too much talking, get to the workout.” Yet, they have the time to comment and thousands of other options to follow for free. 

 

I know these, “quick fix seekers” are not my people. But what you have to decide is, is there any truth to what they say? Is there another way to say it without alienating someone that could get me better results and still get the message across? 

 

Your job is to know what words will make your best health coaching clients - your prospective clients -  recoil and run the other way. Then to consider, if those words make them run away, is that a good thing?? 

Is it something you said? Certain phrases, even single words that alienate your best health coaching clients could be hurting your marketing. 

 

In my own experience, some women who feel SO strongly about the use of the word “girl” or “girlfriend” will let me know it. They will write and say, You won’t do that with man and boy. Please stop. 

 

Other’s of us recoil at the term “ladies.” 

 

So what’s a savvy health & fitness coach to do when trying to attract more clients? 

The very words you use, as terms of endearment, or to connect and build rapport, could be turning them away. 

 

Here’s the kicker… you and not even they… may know it. 

 

So this episode isn’t going to solve world peace. It’s not going to give you a conclusive, “say this not that.” 

What it IS going to do is share with you the unique nuances that you may consciously choose to keep using if it’s a part of your brand. Or you may opt once you’re aware and sensitive to consciously change them.

I’ve mentioned terms like, girl, girlfriend, lady, ladies, or approaches like, aging gracefully, or women in their prime… all sit a certain way with us. How they sit is probably related to our own unique experiences, individuals who’ve used those terms we liked or didn’t in our past. 

 

“Ladies” for me just doesn’t work. 

 

I’m a “girlfriend” kind of person. And I’m not changing that. I’m going to be a “girl” til I die. I’m not going to be a “lady” much as I might try. I don’t have a desire to age gracefully, but “racefully” speeding to a halt having used up every reserve, exclaiming, What a ride! 

 

That’s me. What I have to decide is, is it also my brand? 

 

Potentially, this has already got you thinking about terms you use - much by default and how they may or may not be landing on people. 

 

And there’s more. This next side of the episode is about instruction and directives - not alone bad things… that could feel condescending at worst, or at least a little too close to school. Oddly, as much as we like to learn (or you wouldn’t be here), it seems that most of the adult population doesn’t like to be reminded of school when they were constantly told what to do. 

 

Marketing Words & Phrases that Alienate Your Best Health Coaching Clients

 

You Need to…. 

 

You can use “I needed to” and tell a story. You can use “we tend to” and tell some statistics about behavior, but unfortunately “you need to” 

 

You Have to… 

So, you’re saying, in order to get more lean muscle mass you have to lift weights. 

It’s true. What could possibly be wrong with that? Well, depending on your ideal client it often works best when they identify what they think they need to do instead of hearing from you. 

 

You can list facts and science without saying YOU have to do this. If you haven’t gotten to “you” from I and we… often you feels offensive to people new to you. 

 

You Should… 

Even if it’s, “You should feel proud of yourself.”  Ironically, that comment that may have intended to put them into intrinsic motivation and internal praise, you just “shoulded” on them. 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

Marketing to Women Copywriting Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course

 

Other Episodes You May Like: 

Health Coaching Tips: Your Personal Stories: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/health-coaching-tips/

Content That Creates Clients That Only Want You: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/content-that-creates-clients/

 

You promote health. You promote fitness. And ultimately you do now or will want to promote your own products or services. 

But if you feel salesy, or spammy, it’s going to show in your communications. Consider what’s in it for them. Tell them. Tell them why you trust it and you have proof they trust you if they’re on your email subscribers list! So they DO want to hear your recommendations!

This follow-up to an affiliate promotions podcast gives you some very specific tips that work for me. And affiliate revenue is an amazing way to promote and earn even when you aren’t launching! 

 

Successful affiliate promotions (where you share something you know, love, and trust will be a benefit your community will love) require just three things.

1. Commit to promoting your affiliate repeatedly on each platform you choose.

Two minimum and three is even better, emails are MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE than 1 email, and 1 social media post. 

People are BUSY. They don't see your posts the way you might imagine in your head! They may skip days of hopping into social media. (Lucky them!?) So.. you want to tap someone on the shoulder several times to get their attention. Use a new image or new Subject Line in your emails each time. 

In the body of your email, the first time you send you can get really detailed about why this is relevant :

My friend and colleague, Debra Atkinson created this event to answer questions you have AND those you may not yet know to ask. She gathered 40 experts... not "influencers" flashing bare bellies, but the in-the-lab experts, the go-to speakers for industry events and education. And you can access it for free! 

In the body of your second email - a couple of days later you can refer to the first email:

A few days ago I shared this with you and I know that exercise is an important reason you're here and plays a big part of your success. 

In the 3rd email (maybe the 2nd), I put it at the TOP of the email above the actual greeting and make it short:

Real quick: I don't want you to miss this and know you're busy. I mentioned this FREE event for Women's Exercise Over 40, It's starting NOW... so CLICK HERE to get in. I'll be sharing some of the highlights I'm loving from it with you too! See you there!

2. Come back to the email about the affiliate product you send and later in the day. 

Resend it to unopens. This one is ridiculously easy ... and often OVERLOOKED. So if you're disappointed in the performance of your emails, no matter what you wanted (open rate, click-through, sales) ... you may make FAST improvements by being sure that your busy audience SEES the email. Remember they aren't sitting on their device waiting and hoping for an email from you! So resending brings it up from the buried inbox emails we all get. 

3. Treat Social Media with respect when you Share affiliate promotions!

 Share and share again. 

Know your social media channels! On IG... share in stories and use the LINK so all someone has to do is CLICK. Be prepared with a link when someone DMs you and says, Where do I find that? AND use the link in your bio to go to multiple with a link tree or your custom page on the website where they get right to it. DO NOT put an ugly URL in your post copy. 

Get smart with Facebook too. Stories are hot, news, and clickable. Use them that way! Posts are good.. but buried if you don't nurture them by liking and commenting and sharing with your personal pages. Add to groups or link groups to the post. 

You can easily promote health and fitness and earn revenue without feeling salesy or spammy. If it’s something you believe in, tell them about it with conviction! If it’s not, reconsider sharing it. I’ve had plenty of products or people I once shared and no longer do for one reason or another it just stopped feeling right. 

 

Other Episodes You May Like:

Promote Affiliate Partners: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/promote-affiliate-partners 

 Social Media Advice for Fitness & Health Pros #303:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/social-media-advice/

Resources: 

Business Scorecard:

 https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/Scorecard 

Marketing to Women Copywriting Course:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com//Copywriting-course

Menopause Fitness Specialist:

 https://www.flippingfifty.com/specialist 

 

Let’s examine some fast fixes for social media and make sure you’re optimizing the time and energy you’re spending right now on social.  

Maximize your stories for selling and awareness. 

Optimize your posts and reels for growing your audience. 

Remember that carousel posts engage your current audience but don’t help you grow a new audience. 

Posting Too Frequently 

This one backfires in the worst possible way: by giving you the exact opposite of what you want. 

Look, there’s a  time to build and a time to use what you’ve built.  

For instance, before you go into a launch for a program or a webinar selling into a program, you want to be growing and focused on how to grow your following and congruently your email list. 

But during a launch, you focus on nurturing and making that growth aware of what you’re promoting. 

 

I just hosted the What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+. We wanted as many women as possible there to hear 40 interviews with experts with tips that will help women in midlife (or trainers and health coaches who work with them) exercise in the best possible way. 

 

Prior to the event and just otherwise, normally I would generally post one or two reels within a week. And primarily post multiple stories daily. 

 

During this launch I’ve posted a reel every 1-2 days and posted 10-15 stories a day. 

Including Long Ugly Links in a Social Media Post

No one comes to social media to see your promotion. When you’re talking about a program or a webinar you’re hosting and you don’t have a Pretty Link or a link they can get to in your bio, you’re just hurting yourself! 

 

Here’s a better way. A Pretty Link is a plug-in for use on a Word Press site. It’s free and it helps you create a link like fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course (where we house a marketing-to-women course for health & fitness pros). Now, that’s not the URL to get to the site and the store… but it is an easy-to-remember one. 

If I have a link to a product I am an affiliate for, I’ll make it flippingfifty.com/c60 for instance for the product I use for mitochondria support, improved skin and hair growth. It improves your own hormone function. But.. I digress. 

That isn’t the URL where the reader ends up ,,, but that URL is an ugly serial number-like URl no one is going to remember… and isn’t going to bother trying to copy and paste from your post. That just doesn’t happen. 

 

Remember they came to see friends and family and funny things. Entertain them. Use your stories to share and then you can use the LINK sticker so they can click directly to it. 

 

This past promotion period I must have posted the link to our event 3 times minimum daily. 

 

Not Posting Stories Often Enough

Which... Of course, this brings me to the last fast fix for social media mistakes. You’ve got to make sure that you are using stories to let people in. If you are having a sale, you’re having a webinar, you’re sharing that link right on a story. Post an image, post a video of you inviting them… and keep it in the real-life moment. Too polished accounts and posts aren’t the ones growing the fastest right now. 

 

Realize that overly “manicured” content could be hurting you while going live, just talking, not being hyped up, but being authentic is the way to connect. 

 

Doing the Same Thing Not Getting Results and Not Looking into Doing It Differently

If you are doing the same thing and you’re getting the same dismal views, not many saves or shares, few comments, I want you to change it up.

 

Here are some things to consider: 

• Look at your use of tags. Are you using only what's in text or verbally said or images on your video or pictures? You’re not pulling tags that are about your title but you’re using tags that are about the content of the post? 
• Look at long vs short copy for posts. What does better? Do more of that. 
• Look at use of emojis in your posts to break up text. 
• Do you ask a question that makes a response almost compulsive? (in the copy of your post?) 

 

Resources: 

 The Health & Business Pros Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 

Marketing to Women Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

5-Tips Health Coaches Marketing Formula for Quick Social Media Wins:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/health-coaches-marketing-formula/

2-Ingredient for Better Social Media Posts! Beyond Better & Less:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/better-social-media/

10 Social Media Tips That Work for Fitness & Health Professionals: 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/social-media-tips-2/

If you like passive income, you probably want to promote affiliate partners. But there are a few things you want to know as you get started, or get more serious about generating affiliate revenue. These 4 mistakes could prevent you from supporting your partners - and your audience from support you can provide. 

Using UGLY URLS to Promote Affiliate Partners

Ugly URLs in social media posts or your emails. I’d like to say this is a rookie mistake but I see a lot of experienced entrepreneurs doing it too. Either their VA doesn’t know to ask, or the entrepreneur isn’t aware there’s a better way. 

Back in the day people used Bitly for things like this. But with Pretty Links on word press it’s easier than ever. And then once you set it, you’re not vulnerable to say a platform change that your affiliate partner makes, deeming every single blog post where you put that link broken. It won’t go anywhere. SO not only won’t it make you sales, it will make you frustrated visitors to your site. 

Save yourself the trouble. A Pretty Link not only makes an ugly url pretty, it is the one link you’ll use all the time when mentioning that product or service you’re promoting. Then if you need to, you can go in and change the URL there - in one single place and it updates all the places you’ve used the pretty link. 

Include All Your Affiliate Partners in a Single Email

I’ll admit I come close to doing this once a year every year. That’s when we share the Flipping 50 Gift Guide at the holidays. In our Gift Guide we’re selective about what we’ll include and choose different categories like “stocking stuffers” or “budget-friendly” or “the Victoria’s Secret Diamond Bra” equivalent. But there’s no denying that any other time of year when your customer ISN’T buying not just for themselves but for a wide variety of people they want to spend a wide variety of money on, this would be a mistake.

Now, I DO have a resources page. It’s where I share things I’m asked about over and over again. It’s where I share things I use and affiliate for and things I use and don’t affiliate for, I just am answering the same question so frequently that it’s become easier to refer them to one URL, and you guessed it, it’s a memorable pretty link: flippingfifty.com/resources. 

Not Really Investing Time and Energy in Promoting

This one is going to tie right into the last so I’m going to lump them together for explanation’s sake.  

If you agree or ask - to promote someone and then all you do is write a blog post and leave the promotion sit there… without actively sharing the post regularly, or driving traffic to it, or including the affiliate promotion in an email, you don’t really have your heart in it. If you have hundreds of thousands of visitors to your site regularly, that’s one thing. 

But if you’re struggling to hit 5000 visitors to your website a month, chances are that hidden blog post isn’t going to attract visitors frequently enough or at the time they need to be there to make any difference at all. 

If you ask to promote or are invited and agree, do your best. Make a plan in your promotional calendar. With summits for instance, some of you fitness pros listening promoted for the What, When & Why to Exercise for Women 40+ event. And you earned 50% of the sale when people bought the course and or the recordings which was about $34-$60 depending on which they did. 

If you told people (busy people) about it once on social… 5% if you’re lucky, saw it. And they’re not, scrolling back through old posts to find your information. 

So usually a quality promotion is 2 or 3 emails, social media posts, maybe hosting the event host on your social media live. That’s really making an effort to make the most sales and support the affiliate and your audience with something they need. 

Spreading Your Affiliates too Thin

One of the reasons you may not have promoted with a consorted effort is because you said yes when it should have been no. You were in the middle of your own promotion and you couldn't promote something else too. Or you were trying to promote several things at once which means no one really gets the attention they deserve. 

A couple guidelines for affiliates for me. I would rather promote really really well partners who I really believe in. And sometimes it doesn’t work. RIght now for instance, I can’t be promoting for a great affiliate partner I promoted for last year, because I’m hosting my own summit. 

I hated to say no, but of course she also couldn’t say yes to me, it’s just timing. I happen to have 3 other affiliate partners I love, one I’m working into this 

Resources: 

(Always>> the Health & Business Pros Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard 

Marketing to Women Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course 

 

4 Ways Health & Fitness Pros Can Create Income Right Now 

What if you have a dream of a health coaching or fitness training business but the reality is you need to create income right now? As in, today? 

What if… what if someone had a gun to your head or someone you love, would you find a way? Would you go ahead and take a risk and do it? 

I think we’d all say yes, of course, right? And we’d lose the concern or fear of what someone might think. We lose the pride that may keep you from asking for money. That by the way is tied to some sense of feeling like you’re begging for money which of course is ridiculous if you have a serve that will help someone. 

The truth is there is no easier way to create income right now than in a service business. You don’t have a “cost of goods” or at least it is very small. Unlike selling supplements or gym equipment or sweat towels, tights, or visors... You just have to create an offer and ask. 

So whether you’re just getting started or you’re already selling something, this is for you. 

Before You Can Create More Income 

One word first though. Get ready to make money. Be prepared to track your revenue, your expenses, and know what amount of this is profit.  Know how much time you spend servicing for a specific amount of revenue. That will help you determine your profit margin. Because most trainers make the mistake of thinking that it’s all profit since they are making it and taking it. They forget, their time is worth something. So if you’re spending more hours than you realize, you’ll want to stop that right away or as you expand you won’t have anywhere to go! 

This entire episode revolves around you having an email list, ideally a segmented email list of buyers, and non-buyers, so you can choose to put an offer in front of people who are not currently in a program with you now. 

If you don’t have an email list… you do. You have friends and family and colleagues. And that’s no way to run a business but it is a way to start. Jeff Walker with his Product Launch Formula created a thriving business with this soft launch and so can you. You can start with it, that is. If you’re serious about business, then get a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and some support if you’re not techie and get things hooked up to your website so when customers purchase they automatically get exactly what they should and never see what they shouldn’t. 

If you don’t yet have an email CRM I’ll link to some prior episodes about growing your email list. 

 

4 Ways Health & Fitness Pros Can Create Income Now 

 

1. Make an offer right now: Stop Procrastinating

In this example, you float out an email and say "Still interested?"

Make a spontaneous offer that requires an urgent response. In my case, I did this because I realized I was creating an entire challenge for one of my private clients who needed to boost her metabolic flexibility. She was doing all the things and not losing weight. 

I realized it was a problem others in our community probably also had but weren’t necessarily going to buy another program because they were potentially already doing HIIT, and Weight Training. But they would do this… a specific challenge designed to target the specific problem.

I presented it as a “beta group” and said…” I know it’s last minute but we’re starting this Monday. So if you want in… I need you to let me know tomorrow. I’ll send you the order form, then the pdf, and the WhatsApp group once you’re enrolled.”

Other times when this is a big offer, like a retreat and we’re at $2000 or higher, it’s beneficial to do an email to a phone call if you have time. I wouldn’t have had time in this case and it’s only a $500 product sent to about 25 people that know me well. Their risk was low - they already know and trust me - and most have been VIP clients with me in the past. 

2. Make an upsell for anything you’re already selling.

This way you optimize the services you already have. Just like, “Do you want fries with that?” or hotel room service that asks, “Would you like a piece of chocolate lava cake with that?” 

The 20% of those customers who say yes, just increased their sales by 20%. You should do that all day long. Take the chocolate cake for an example though. They don’t just ask: 

Do you want anything else with that? 

Do you want dessert with that? 

No, they get very specific and use descriptive words. 

So should you. 

 

Do you want the success coaching with that? 

Do you want the 20 One-Pan meal recipes with that? 

Do you want... 

3. Take whatever you're already selling well and increase the rate. 

Based on consumer psychology, there’s no difference between $49 and $59 or $69. 

Take a $69 product and make it $99. 

You can take a currently $99 and make it $129 or $139.

 

The conversion rate doesn’t change but the profit margin goes up. 

4. Package all of These Income Generators together. 

Send an email today, suggesting a new group starting that’s focused on a problem you know a lot of your community have, offer it at 20% higher rate than normal - it’s specialized after all - (or suggest you are going to raise the rate after this beta group and they want to get in now to take advantage of it. Offer an upsell for more private time with you, or simply an add-on that you know they’ll need to have to be successful. 

 

Think like ... You HAVE to. Sometimes you just have to imagine.. That you do in order to get out of your way and do what was always possible anyway. 

 

Your email list should provide you that kind of cushion. You have the ability to send an email and make money every single day. Are you using it? 

Which of these ways to create more income now will you use first? 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

4 Ways to Grow Your Email List with Your Fitness Videos:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/grow-your-email-list/

How do you know what freebie to create:

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/freebie/

Resources: 

Business Scorecard: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/scorecard

How to create an Irresistible Freebie: 

https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/irresistible-freebie-how-to/

Kilimanjaro with 3 artificial joints; got your attention? Feeling a little tired… after your early morning swim or your HIIT session today? This will give you a new perspective. 

Even better, with adult kids. If you’re a parent you know what that would mean. If you have parents, especially if they’re gone, you may know what it would be like to have a memory like that with them. 

What kind of life lessons are tucked into experiences like this. Maybe you pursue marathons or triathlons, maybe you like bodybuilding. 

Is it for you, or ego, or is it also something to create a life for later you love? 

Is it to put something in your life that is more meaningful, or to escape reality of today? 

There are so many reasons to add a "reach" experience to your life, and none of them wrong. Perhaps the only wrong is in not knowing why you want it or do it. 

Enjoy this short Q and A. 

My Guest: 

Dr. Irv Rubenstein, exercise physiologist and personal trainer (NSCA-CSCS, CPT, Certified with Distinction; ACSM-EP; FAI-Functional Aging Specialist), is president of STEPS Fitness, Nashville’s first personal training center. He has been an educator for fitness professionals with Exercise ETC; a contributor to online articles on fitness myths, functional training, and proper exercise technique; and has also contributed to books and articles for and about personal training. He was a founding member of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (now Renewed Support) and served on its Executive and Education Committees. Dr. Irv has presented nationally and regionally on exercise and anorexia, arthritis and exercise, exercise and weight management, and several other exercise-related topics. He currently is an advisory board member for the MFN, has provided webinars for the MFEF, and is co-author of its Orthopedic Fitness Specialist course.

Questions we answer in this episode:

How did it impact your leadership or did you use it as an example in that way?

What does a person do after reaching a personal goal like that? 

Was there any fear of separation or isolation from clients? 

How did this help you relate to your clients, or did it? 

The full episode: (included video footage)

https://www.flippingfifty.com/kilimanjaro 

Other Episodes You Might Like: 

Adventure, leadership 

How do you evaluate business expenses to take thoughtful calculated risks? Everything that’s unpredictable is a risk, afterall. And spending money before you make money is a risk. If there are things you’ve never done before, it can be hard to decide when to say yes, when to say no, and when it’s just no, not right now. 

While we’re on this topic of investing, realize we’re not just talking about money. Time and energy are the other two things that you want to consider. How you spend your energy is due to where you place your attention. 

Business Expenses Related to Health & Fitness Coaching Are Inevitable

They aren’t all as easy to spot as a credit card bill or check, unfortunately. 

If you’re putting attention on things that don’t really serve you, like: 

Conversations with people you can’t control 

Weight that you don’t want 

Regret or anger you aren’t letting go of

Or, more related to business, a project that you create but haven’t tested whether anyone wants to buy it… 

That gets very expensive even if you haven’t spent money on it. 

For instance, you’ve got a phone so you shoot videos that you use to create a program using unlisted YouTube videos. It doesn’t cost you anything because the phone, the YouTube platform and the ability to send an email are all free.

Have you considered how much time it takes to create video, edit video, polish and brand it, and upload it? 

If you know how much your time is worth (Between $100 and $500 an hour) then those things become something you don’t want to do unless you’ve tested and evaluated. 

Let’s start with a series of 5 questions you can use to evaluate your business expenses. [Step 1]

Then I’ll take you through how to set up tasks within projects. (Those sometimes reveal expenses you hadn’t already planned on). [Step 2]

5 Questions that Evaluate Business Expenses: 

Will it make you money? 

Will it cost you money?

How soon will it make you money?

How soon will it cost you money?

Is there anything you need to stop or start doing to see it through? 

Now that you’ve answered those questions, you may have already decided to keep going or to scrap the project. 

Next… 

What Tasks Will Help You Evaluate Good Business Investments?

These will not only help you evaluate good vs poor business decisions, but they’ll get this project planned out! 

What are some of the tasks you need to do?

How much will each cost? 

How long will each take? 

Who will be responsible for it? 

What are deadlines related to this project? 

If you can complete this evaluation, you’ll save yourself a lot of time… and a lot of money… and keep yourself organized.

[Step 3] A project that you evaluate as “not right now” can still be one you return to and do later. But now you’ve got it, documented in draft form, ready to modify or run with. 

Resources: 

Health & Fitness Coaches Business Scorecard: https://www.flippingfifty.com/scorecard 

Marketing to Women Copywriting Course: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/copywriting-course 

Other Episodes You May Like: 

Your Fitness Business Annual Plan Step-by-Step: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/annual-plan/

Business Planning for Health & Fitness Coaches: https://www.fitnessmarketingmastery.com/business-planning/